, also known as , is an arcade video game in the '' Bubble Bobble'' series developed by

Taito is a Japanese company that specializes in video games, toys, arcade cabinets and game centers, based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. The company was founded by Michael Kogan in 1953 as the importing vodka, vending machines and jukeboxes into Japan. It b ...

in 1994. While being a new ''Bubble Bobble'' for a new generation, it takes place after ''

Parasol Stars is a video game by Taito released in 1991. It is a sequel to ''Rainbow Islands'' and the third game in the ''Bubble Bobble'' series. Gameplay Bubby and Bobby (the characters' human names) star once again as the main characters, retaining their ...

''.

Gameplay

For this adventure, Bubblun and Bobblun, the familiar green and blue bubble dragons, are joined by girls Kululun (an amber dragon) and Cororon (a pink dragon), but they are stated to be the children of the Bub and Bob of

the first game ''The First Game'' is a painting by Arnold Friberg, and was commissioned in 1968 by Chevrolet Motor Division as one of four paintings to commemorate the then-upcoming centennial celebration of college football in the United States. It depicts ...

. According to the intro, the four characters (as humans) inadvertently unleash Hyper Drunk, the final boss, while reading books. Hyper Drunk transforms the four into bubble dragons and banishes them to a new world.

Characters

* is the well-rounded character; he can fire three grouped bubbles straight ahead when powered up (the bubble button is held for a few seconds then released). * has faster speed in exchange for shorter range. He can shoot three bubbles in a spread pattern when powered up. * has the longest available range, but is slow. She can shoot her bubbles in a "T" pattern (forwards, backwards, and down) when powered up. * has the fastest bubble blowing and can shoot her bubbles in an inverted-"T" pattern (forwards, backwards, and up) when powered up. Although a sequel to '' Bubble Bobble'', the game inaugurates few changes to the gameplay formula of that title. The small changes that have been made are that a boss is now encountered every five to ten levels, giving those scenes a similar prominence to ''

Rainbow Islands is a 1987 arcade game developed and published by Taito. The arcade version was licensed to Romstar for North American manufacturing and distribution. The game is subtitled "The Story of Bubble Bobble 2" and is the sequel to Taito's hit game ''Bubb ...

'', and the player takes a branching route through the levels by selecting one of two doors after every boss. The players can now charge the bubble shot; if released when the dragon's horns or bow is glowing, he/she will breathe three bubbles at once, with the specific formation dependent on the character chosen. The players must collect certain square cards with music notes inside, in order to get the 4 keys that lead to the final world or face an early false ending. Also, the characters have to collect a rod to turn their characters from their dragon to human forms during the course of the game.

Cameos

The game includes cameos by other

characters and settings from '' The NewZealand Story'', ''

Darius Darius may refer to: Persian royalty ;Kings of the Achaemenid Empire * Darius I (the Great, 550 to 487 BC) * Darius II (423 to 404 BC) * Darius III (Codomannus, 380 to 330 BC) ;Crown princes * Darius (son of Xerxes I), crown prince of Persia, ma ...

'', '' Space Invaders'', '' Arkanoid'', ''

Liquid Kids ''Liquid Kids'' is a 1990 Platform game, platform arcade video game developed and published by Taito. Starring the hippopotamus Hipopo, players travel through the land of Woody-Lake throwing water bombs, jumping on and off platforms to navigate l ...

'', '' KiKi KaiKai'' (including Cindy, known in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese version as Sayo-chan and the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

'' Pocky & Rocky'' games as Pocky), '' Yūyu no Quiz de Go! Go!'', '' Pu·Li·Ru·La'', and '' The Fairyland Story''.

Continuity

* Within the context of the game world, '' Bubble Memories - The Story of Bubble Bobble III'' takes place before ''Bubble Symphony'', even though the latter is released earlier. * All the enemies from the original '' Bubble Bobble'' appear in this game, along with a lot of newer enemies. * The credits (in the arcade version) show all the enemies' names, and those of characters who make cameos from other

games.

Ports

The only home port of ''Bubble Symphony'' was for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

in Japan. The game was included in the ''

Taito Legends 2 ''Taito Legends 2'' is the sequel to ''Taito Legends'' and is a follow-up collection of 39 (or 43, see below) Taito arcade games for Xbox, PlayStation 2 and Microsoft Windows. As the former collection, it has been derived from the Japan exclu ...

'' compilation for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

in North America and Europe, and on the

Xbox Xbox is a video gaming brand created and owned by Microsoft. The brand consists of five video game consoles, as well as applications (games), streaming services, an online service by the name of Xbox network, and the development arm by the na ...

in Europe only. It was released on the

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

in Japan only, via '' Taito Memories II Volume 2''. The Xbox and PS2 versions run in upscanned 640x448 resolution, which results in slight flickering, no scanlines, and slightly blurrier image compared to the Arcade and Sega Saturn versions. A

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

version was completed, and was going to be published by Virgin Interactive Entertainment, but was never released.

Soundtrack

is a video game soundtrack that was released on CD and published by Pony Canyon and Scitron Label on January 20, 1995 in Japan. Tracks 1, 2 and 22 were arranged by Yasuko Yamada, Yasutaka Mizushima and

Tamayo Kawamoto Tamayo Kawamoto (河本圭代 or かわもとたまよ), also simply known as TAMAYO, is a Japanese video game music composer. During her time at Capcom, she wrote music for games. After leaving Capcom in 1988, she joined Taito and became a memb ...

. was released by Zuntata Records and Taito Corp on July 31, 2013 in Japan.

Reception

In Japan, ''Game Machine'' listed ''Bubble Symphony'' on their December 1, 1994 issue as being the fourth most-successful table arcade game of the year.

References

External links

* *
''Bubble Symphony''
a
Arcade History.com
{{Authority control 1994 video games Arcade video games Cooperative video games Platformers Cancelled PlayStation (console) games Sega Saturn games Bubble Bobble Video games scored by Allister Brimble Taito arcade games Taito F3 System games Video games developed in Japan